Gold opened the week’s trading on a notable increase, rising 2.3% after maintaining its trading above $4400, heading towards extending gains for the second consecutive session.

Gold is currently trading above the weekly pivot point at $4385, looking to reach the first weekly resistance level at $4495, noting that exceeding this level could help prices hit a new historic high of $4659.

If the yellow metal takes a breather, then falls below the aforesaid pivot point, it may retest the bullish trend line, which if breached, could put pressure on gold to start a new downward correction, targeting support levels of $4221 then $4110.

On the economic front, daring U.S. capture of Venezuela’s leader is in the spotlight at the outset of the first full trading week of 2026. Analysts are attempting to wrap their heads around the implications of the incursion, which will see the U.S. assuming temporary control over the oil-rich Latin American nation.

This week’s economic calendar is dominated by the release of U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls data for December. Economists expect the U.S. to have added around 57,000 jobs in the last month of 2025, down from 64,000 added jobs in November.

The cadence of monthly jobs figures is set to normalize after a prolonged 43-day U.S. government shutdown led to the delay of these crucial reports. The previous batch of jobs data did not include an unemployment rate for October, posting the first gap in a series that stretches back to 1948.

Finally, markets will pay close attention to the U.S. service and manufacturing PMI reports for December. If these indicators rise above expectations, it could negatively affect gold prices, while the opposite is true.